Man With 8 DWIs Tells Judge Collision With Backyard Pool Wasn't His Fault
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police say a hit-and-run driver has been arrested after he crashed into a pool in the backyard of a Levittown home and then fled from the scene.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, the man shouldn't have even been behind the wheel.
It all began at Seamans Neck Road and Holmes Street around 9:15 p.m. Sunday.
Police said 40-year-old Andrew Zub was driving his Dodge Ram pickup truck when he collided with a Nissan sedan. The truck then careened into a white fence of a home on Ferris Road and into an above ground pool.
"There was fence flying everywhere, it was pretty scary," said homeowner Mike Vecchiarelli, who watched the out-of-control truck careen into his backyard in disbelief as he sat on his deck. "When he hit the pool, water shot up in the air like 25 feet. It was a big splash and the water drained out of the pool instantly. So you're running over debris and water trying to get out in the street and making sure everyone was that was here was accounted for."
In the confusion, Nassau County police say the driver was able to escape the scene.
"My son went to help the guy out and he told me to call 911 and the guy just got out of the truck and took off," resident Chris Hoebeler said.
Investigators were able to track down Zub and arrested him at his home several hours later, police said. He is being charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injury, property damage, and circumventing a court-ordered interlocking device on his truck to get it started, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
Police tell CBS2 Zub has a history of DWI charges -- he's been arrested ten times with eight convictions -- however, he was not charged with driving under the influence in this case.
"The defendant now is being charged with circumventing an interlock device, basically if you are charged with a DWI in the past, the judge can order that be installed, and operational in the vehicle," Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said.
Police and prosecutors are urging lawmakers to crackdown.
The crash left behind a lot of debris strewn across the backyard and about 50 percent of the pool was also destroyed, with all of the water spilling out of it, Doris reported.
No one was in the pool at the time and no one was injured in the backyard. Zub told a judge that the crash into the pool was the fault of the other driver.
The two people inside the Nissan, a 53-year-old male driver and a 74-year-old female passenger, were taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
